The terms “Ticketmaster” and “fan-friendly” are usually in diametric opposition to each other, but the ticket industry giant is aiming to change that perception with the launch of Full Disclosure Pricing, a new 3-day refund policy and the debut of a official blog called Ticketology.
In the past, consumers weren’t privy to the full price – including all of the additional charges – per ticket when buying ducats from Ticketmaster until late in the process. Now, those fees will be disclosed up front. The first post on Ticketology goes into full detail about the new arrangement and from the wording you’d think poor ol’ Ticketmaster was bullied into hiding the real cost during the ticket sale process…
Over the next few days we are rolling out a new way of presenting pricing and fees on Ticketmaster.com. Going forward, just like almost every other business in the world, we’ll tell you up front how much you can expect to pay for a certain ticket. We’ll still break out the “face value” from the other fees where required, and we haven’t broken down per-order fees yet (although you will begin to see many of our clients move to truly all-in pricing, because they know it sells more tickets and makes you happier). This user experience mirrors what you see across the web from leaders in their field – Amazon, Apple, Expedia, Zappos and more. It’s not complicated, it’s just the right thing to do.
Ticketmaster has also announced a 3-day return policy for tickets bought for Live Nation venues. We’re all for transparency in an industry that has had little of it over the past few decades. It remains to be seen whether these new policies will help Ticketmaster sell tickets and consumers feel more secure about buying tickets. With the Live Music Industry falling upon hard times after a few years of bucking the recession, all the players in the business are coming up with unique ways to help spark a rebound. Hopefully the consumers will benefit in the end. [via The Daily Swarm]
2 Responses
“Full Disclosure Pricing” is a joke. They’re simply rolling up the convenience charge into the ticket price. Once you’ve selected your seat, users have to actively click “Price Details” in order to see the convenience fee separated from the total. I’d be impressed if they actually broke down where the “convenience fee” goes. What does that cover?
Fuck Ticketbastard.